3 box carriers lead rankings in best data quality

Three global box carriers have come out on top of an industry list of providers of high-quality data, which are linked to increased visibility of shipments and enhanced efficiency of shipping supply chains.

Singapore’s APL led the way in providing the highest quality data, followed by Germany-headquartered Hapag-Lloyd, and then by Middle East-based United Arab Shipping Company, according to the first published results of a comprehensive ocean shipping information quality program launched by INTTRA, a global e-commerce network for ocean shipping.

The program was created to help ocean carriers assess their global shipment data completeness, accuracy, and timeliness using a standardized measurement system.

It enables shipping lines to easily identify where data gaps exist so they can make system changes and improve shipment information quality.

With the program, “carriers can easily spot systemic issues caused by status event information that is missing, late or inconsistent, enabling them to make changes that improve data quality and help customers manage shipments more effectively,” the INTTRA report said.

The rankings were derived by matching data on shipment status with the transport plans provided to shippers on the INTTRA network.

Since the program began in September 2013, INTTRA said it has worked with participating carriers to improve overall data quality by 11 percent.

“The information quality program is a core part of INTTRA’s strategic vision to improve supply chain shipment visibility, and we congratulate the top three carriers who have made high-quality information a priority,” said Sandra Moran, chief marketing officer of the company. “We look forward to continuing our work with all carriers to pinpoint areas for sustainable data quality enhancements that drive new levels of efficiency in the shipment supply chain.”

The program also reveals data on complete and incomplete shipments by export country and location to allow carriers to measure information quality per region, identify emerging issues, and make changes as needed.

The first regional findings showed that the top five regions scoring the highest in information quality were (in order): Hong Kong, Chile, Thailand, Canada, and Australia. The top five regions scoring the worst data quality figures were (in order) China, Turkey, United States, South Korea, and India.